Victorinox electronics (2) : SWISSBIT s.beat mp3

Another nice Vic gadget collectable arrived today. The Swissbit was once an effort to run with the big ones. The Ipod, Sony mp3 players and not to forget the growing mobile phone capabilities were just to popular and had a great price/quality unlike the overpriced Swissbit! The pricy Swissbit is still the quality we expect from Victorinox, but with a small display and fairly unknown electronics status the mp3 player wasn't big enough to compete. I personally love this mp3 player. Don't get me wrong, I own a 160Gb Ipod classic and this is as good as it gets when it comes to mp3 players, but the Swissbit is the kind of "gadget" I allways wanted in my collection. It's no longer in production and becomes a real collectable. The sound quality is very good and the small display shows everything you need, from bitrate to filename. On the player there's a small 5-directional joystick wich gives you ,in a smart way, all the possible functions you'll need. The scales are made from smooth Alox and the backside contains a "money clip". The remote is incredible. The remote is made in the shape of the Victorinox shield and  is a bit larger than the knife. The cross in the middle is used as the four directional button. In the box there's a sporting bracelet with velcro and allows you to add a rubber support to attach the knife to your arm. Overall this is a great gadget to own and shows once more that Victorinox won't make any compromises when it comes to quality. It feels strong, durable and gives a great audio quality! 

Story : An Egyptian Soldier

When I take a look at all those wonderstories with a Victorinox knife, I can't help thinking, with some of them, weither they're true or just proof of a huge imagination. This one isn't the "huge explosion / Victorinox saved my life" story but a fun story of my holiday in 2012. 

When we go on a vacation, we allways put our beloved knives in the luggage. "You never know!" is our motivation to do so. The wife takes a Climber and I can't leave the house without my trusty Soldier. In 2012 we decided to go to Egypt. It was a lifelong dream to see, feel and perhaps climb the piramids. The knives are allways in the main luggage on the airplane (duh!) and this seems to work perfectly. After a few vacations, I can now safely say that whenever you keep the knives out the carry-on, it will arrive! :) One of our first trips in Egypt was offcourse to see the piramids of Gizeh and because of the protests on the Tahrir square, our travel-company said it was still not safe to go. We are the more adventurous type, and went looking for a local taxi company. After a few hours we made a deal with a limousine service (more luxureous taxi, not the long car!) and the next day we were on the road. After a five hour drive trough the desert, we arrived in Cairo... What a city! A few minutes outside Cairo, is Gizeh, and at the entrance we're overwhelmed by the numerous "guides" offering to help us. One of them assists us to the x-ray scan.... Oh shit! I forgot that I carried my Victorinox Soldier. My wife left hers in the car. When I pass the metal detector, I can follow the scans screen, and see that the wife, normally watching the screen, is telling her entire life story at her friend. She didn't noticed the knife. I picked up my bag and made an unforgettable tour arround and on the piramids (2 meters :) ). The next stop was the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. I wanted to see the mask of King Tut. Believe it or not, but when you enter the building, you need to pass some kind of fence, and once you're inside, it's difficult to get back outside. So when we're inside and ready to go trough another x-ray scanner, my lightbulb shines once again... The knife! So I go back to the fence and shout at one of our drivers. He looks surprised and I ask him to put the knife in the car. He looks stunned and affraid. Are you insane? he says. "This is forbidden in Egypt." "You could go to jail for this.." I started sweating... Now I know that he exgagerated, but back then.... brrrr... We made a tour through the museum, but it kept haunting my mind... What if these guys decided to go to the police? When we went back to the car, they did as if nothing had happened and started driving back to the hotel. After a while I asked them what they did with the knife. The driver started laughing and asked us why we would bring such a thing to Egypt. After explaining that a Victorinox is far more than a "weapon", they aggreed, and at the end of our drive they gave the knife back. The driver seemed interested in the knife, and after explaining how it worked and what it could do, I gave it to him. Believe me, I never saw someone this happy! I bought a new one the minute I arrived in Belgium, because once you own one, you can't leave the house without! This guy probably uses this knife every day and maybe someday gives it to his son, just like I once got my first spartan from my dad...

Victorinox electronics : Swissmemory & Swissmemory slim

I remember a funny cartoon many years ago, some guy tought it would be funny to add the popular usb (back then 64mb) on a Victorinox Spartan. Everybody laughed and within a year someone in Ibach had the same idea and saw potential... Right now the usb stick gained even more popularity and the diversity is enormous. Victorinox has two dimensions when we look at the design, the usb and the usb slim. The slim version came out in 2011 and was very popular because the usb knives now looked thin, and didn't carry that thick usb drive. There were some problems with the encryption software, added on the usb drive. This software couldn't be updated anymore due to manufacturer problems and Victorinox decided to recall the knives. A few stayed in the "circuit" and were sold far below the retail price. I was lucky! I'm an Apple user and can't use the encryption software, so the "defect" didn't bother me. The Slim version looks beautiful. It's lightweight, has no knive (allowed on planes), and has the ever-gorgeous alox scales. When we take a look at the usb part, we can see that the plastic Victorinox logo lights up red when you connect it to your pc. It should be shock resistant and waterproof, according to Victorinox. Didn't test that part yet! ;) Victorinox stands for quality and it shows once again with this knife. The memory capacity is one more surprise... When you buy any other usb drive, from let's say 4 Gb , you'll see that it actually contains +/- 3,98 Gb. Victorinox decided to give what they promised. 4 Gb is in reality 4,04 Gb. It's a small detail, but I love it. These small things make the difference. There are also ssd drives available. These are amazing, but cost far more then I'm willing to spend. :) More info is available on the Victorinox website!

Theo Klein : Victorinox toy

Being a kid again..... If I was 3 years old and my dad would give me this toy... Oh man, I think, I would go insane! This is by far the coolest toy ever (for a victorinox collector). I bought it as a Victorinox collectable and have one in the box and one in the display cabinet. The magnifying glass works, the fork and spoon are strong enough to let some 3 year old eat his dinner and the keychain is strong enough to carry it arround. No, it's not my next edc, but this would make a very nice gift for the young ones. RECOMMENDED!

GAK : Mil Tec vs. Victorinox

The Mil-Tec GAK is, according to many collectors, rather a reproduction than an issued knife. Reproduction or not, it's a quality knife, but misses the high grade pollish and stronger backbone of the real deal. The Mil-Tec feels strong, but when you open the main blade, you'll instantly see that the the blade doesn't stand 100% straight. The steel looks great, but when you compare it to the Vic steel, you'll notice a difference. The Victorinox steel looks like a mirror, while the Mil-Tec's looks like "brushed" steel. I'm pretty shure that durability will make the definitive decision between these knives. Victorinox can be copied by looks, but Swiss quality is unique! The GAK consists of a large blade, a woodsaw with file (there are some models without the file), a caplifter on the saw, a large flathead screwdriver on top of the caplifter ,a corckscrew and an awl. The scales are made of nylon. The GAK was the first Victorinox knife that uses nylon scales. The Victorinox GAK was used from 1976 till 2003.

Specs :

* length : 108 mm (closed)

* width : 14 mm (measured)

* weight : 85 gr. (measured)

VICTORINOX GAK

MIL-TEC GAK